In an effort to identify small molecules with anti-Alzheimer's potential, we recently carried out a screen for molecules that disrupt the binding of abeta to receptor-expressing cells. A hit molecule from this screen was revealed to be an oligomeric degradation product of a known molecule. The specific structure of this oligomeric degradation product has been elusive: it appears to be polydispersed and may not be a single structure. However, extensive biochemical and animal studies revealed that it has significant potential as a therapeutic. Our efforts to date have revolved around generating synthetic material that mimics the behavior of the degradation product, and studying structure-activity relationships of this fascinating molecule. In collaboration with Stephen Strittmatter (Yale University) we have used a variety of analytical and synthetic techniques to further characterize the compound